Circuit-interrupter.



FORD W. HARRIS, OF WILKINSRURG 'FTZNNSYLVNA ^-`$lf`fOR Ti] XVESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING A CHR' (TIF 33EN.NSYLVANIA` CIRCUTDJ NT HRRUPTER Application filed. December 5. i810.

.To all whom, it may Concern;

Be it known that I, l^-`om lli". H u' Citizen of the lfnited IStates, and a rr of lVilhin'--bnrg, in the County of Ali b and State of l'ei'insglvania, haw invente/,i non' and useful Improvement in Circuititerrnpters, of which the following is .a Sironi-- lication.

My invention relates to Circuit iiiterrnplf ers for electric circuits, and it has special.

reference to automatic tripping deviens f-ir such apparatus.

The object of my invention to privide a simple and elfeetive de Tice of the a. ve indicated Character which shall be partfn larly adapted to trip out the operating Unir-habian] of a Circuit interrnpter under ronditions of no-voltage and shall oniloiv nxans whereby the release "magnet ie 1elieved of its usnal severe function of re the Inovahie tore when the circi runter is closed. Y

According to my invention7 I provide i tripping device that embodies an electro-- magnet having u movable Core 'whit-,li norr mally rests upon the stationary oore and. held in engagement therewith under predetermined voltage conditions against the er tion of a spring which tends to aetnate the movable core to release the operating merli,- anisxn of the interrnpter when the inter-- rnpter is closed. ln Case the vnltage fails the spring `rojects the movable core aggai -1 a latch, an( the operating mechanism is released. When the interrupter is open, le spring is inactive and the movable con' i.. allowed to fall by gravity into engagenni with the stationary core member. dttherefore, manifest that the tripping n net is never required to raise its moin Core, and hence7 the usual severe operati, gg conditions are eliminated and the site and cost of the customary trippingl magnet may be considerably reduced. When magnete of this character are used on alternating on' rent circuits, the amount ot' enrrenr f and. Consequently, the heating. rares f the condition of the magnetic cir l i i, is to say, if the magnetic circuit is clonal and is of relatively lmv relnotanee. snnzii heating and small current will be mani fested. lf, however, the magnetic eirout Se open, a arge magnetixing current ml iii/ff and the coil will rapidly owrli Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

to i and this conyemma, the release n .van iis magnetic ciranj-g wpgireoiabh-, time, inasl. runt onen oniy during the in'vflor the actual opening of 'lh Vcrniflition results in a a more etlicent operaof the :,iecoinpanying nenti-on of a circuit intei-rupi; r f '1k i aides; Inv invention.

to the tirmving; in detail, the

intr'rnpi'er {'onipriser a liquid-corry f." .nit taining tr,`

stationary ,Contact terminals eine emitart member 39 an n for said movable (inenting Lever Si? and g; devire invention resides in the per in no way to inte? A ptet', except as ts' thereof pererm functions man g stationary and villers :i and Randv the M f lr t will he given. lhese devices. .1. an, are only intended to be ill stmve nf siiitiihle means for ac- "ulgif' Iriiirposes and it is :retable means may Y Y fiviee @emprise-s e supporiii fr raine i mung an upwardly prosanfirn d et its upper rightehand upon einen the operating lever 5 is mounted Ineens of a, shaft 9. ",-etngi' leve ot compound struci wenn, i i unter member l0 and inner in The outer member 10 is termed et i idy associated parallel bare l2 between nl the inner member 11 pivotav unwanted iin-:in the shaft 9n One end ol' the opera 'ig lever Ii is provided fs-lnitszrle handit' 135 while the other f a Coenen-Wight lei. according A intrh l5 is pivot `iin ,in between the .the outer member u :i loller 1T ith The upper end of a rod 18 is connected to the operating mechanism il, which is adapted to etiect the engagement ot' the coperating Contact members 2 and 3 and the lower end ot' said rod is pivotally connected to the inner member 11, substantially midway between its endsc by means of a pin 19. Furthermore, the outer end of the outer member 10 is provided with a pivotally mounted latch 2U u hicli is adapted to engage a stop 21 on the supporting frame 7 and thereby loch the operating lever in its lower, or closed, position ,Avn electronuignet QQ, whicn is mounted. upon thc supporting trame 7, is ot' a common type of construction and comprises a stationary core 13, 'a movable core 2l and a winding 25. The movable core 2l is adapted to rest upon the middle leg 26 of the stationary core and is provided with a hammer rod at its upper end, so located as to engage a tripping lever 28 of the latch 15, under certain conditions. .A rod 29 is also secured to the movable core 24 and projects downwardly through an opening in the stationary core 23.

Upon a shaft 31, is mounted a lever 32 which comprises a short arm 33 and a relatively long arm 3l. The outer end of the longer arm 3l is associated with the rod 29 by means of nuts 35, while the outer end of the shorter arm 33 is connected to the lower extremity of a spring 37, the upper end of which is connected to one end ol a lever 38 which is pivotally mounted upon a pin 39. rlhe other end of the lever 38 is adapted to be engaged by the outer member l0 of the operating lever 5 when said outer member is in its lower position, whereby a tension on the spring 37 is maintained, as will be readily understood.

Assuming the circuit intcrruptertto be closed and the various parts of the apparatus to occupy the positions shown, it is evident that the tension of the spring 37 tends to rotate the lever 32 in a counter-clockwise,

direction and to raise the movable core 24' in opposition to the weight ot' said core and the magnetism ot the electromagnet 22. If, for any reason whatsoever, the voltage upon the circuit interrul'iter fails, the electromagnet 22 is denergized, and it obvious that the action of the spring 37 causes the movable core 24 and associated rod E27 to be projected against the arm 28 of the latch 15 to release die operating mechanism. r1`he circuit interrupter is thc-n opened by reason of the weight of its component parts, and the inner operating member l1 assumes the position shown in the dot and dash lines. No movement of the outer member 10 takes place, however, on account of the fact that it is locked in position by the latch 20. Hence, the spring 37is maintained under tension and the movable core 2l is held inv its upper position, as will be readily understood. In order to reset the interrupter, the latch 20 is disengaged from the stop 21 and, by means of the handle 13, the outer operating lever 10 is raised to its uppermost position, in which the latch 15 engages the roller 17 at the outer end of the inner lever 11. It is evident that, as the outer member 10 is raised out of engagement with the lever 38, the coil spring 37 is allowed to relax and, hence, the movable core Z-flis allowed to fall by gravity into engagement with the stationary core 26. In order to close the interruptor, the operating lever 5 is forced into its lowermost position until the latch 20 engages the stop `21, thereby causing the operating mechanism 4 to effect an engagement of the movable contact member 3 with the cooperating stationary Contact terminals 2. As the operating lever 5 reaches its lower position7 the lever 38 is engaged thereby and is moved in a counter-clockwise direction to place the spring 37 under tension. In case no voltage exists upon the interrupter at the moment ot' closing, it is evident that the spring 37 immediately actuates the movable core 24 into engagement with the latch l5 and the operating mechanism is againv released. 1f, however, voltage does exist, the electromagnet Q2 is energized and the magnetism developed therein is suHicient to over-- come the action of the spring 37 and the interrupter remains closed, so long as normal voltage remains upon the circuit.

Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the electromagnet 24 is not required to raise its movable core, but is relieved of this severe duty by means of the spring 37. Hence, a magnet of milch less liberal design may be employed, which results in considerable economy of space and expense.

Although I have shown and described a tripping device of a specific structure, it is evident that various modifications in size and in the arrangement and location of parts may be effected without exceeding the spirit of my invention, and I desire that `such modifications be included within its scope.

I claimas my invention:

1. The 'combination with a circuit interrupter, and an operating mechanism therefor, of a tripping device for releasing said operating mechanism and comprising a magnet having cooperating stationary and movable cores that are normally held together magnetically, and means operatively connected to the movable core of said magnet and to the operating mechanismr .uder predetermined operating couditio;-i for lifting said movable core to release said operating mechanism.

2. The combination with a circuit interrupter, an operating mechanism and means for holding the same in circuit-closing position, of 'mechanical releasing means normally dependent upon said operating mechanism and independent of gravity, and electro-responsive means for opposing the releasing action of said mechanical means, said mechanical releasing means being interposed between said operating mechanism and said electro-responsive means under predetermined operating conditions.

3. The combination with a circuit interi'upter and an operating mechanism therefor, of resilient means operatively connected to said operating mechanism only under predetermined operating conditions and tending. to release said mechanism. and means operatively connected to said resilient means and dependent upon predetermined circuit conditions for restraining the action of said resilient means.

4. rl`he combination with a circuit interriipter, an operating mechanism therefor and an operating lever for said mechanism, of means for restraining said mechanism in its closed position, mechanical means mechanically associated with said operating lever and tending to release said restraining means only when said interriipter is closed, and electro-responsive means for opposing said mechanical means when said interrupter is closed andpredetermined circuit yconditions obtain.

5. The combination .with a circuit interriipter and an operating mechanism therefor, of means for restraining said mechanism in its closed position, spring-actuated means associated with said mechanism and tending to release said restrainingnieans only when said inteirupter is closed, and an electromagnet to opposa the action of said spring-actuated meansiinder predetermined voltage conditions.

6. The combination 'with a circuit interriipter, an operating melchhanism therefor, and an operating lever, of means for restraining said operating mechanism in its closed position, mechanicalrmeans tending to release said restraining means and dependent upon a spring which is active only ywhen said operating lever is in its closed position, and an electromagnet adapted to act in opposition to said mechanical means l erate with said operating lever to cause saidspring to tend to trip said latch, in opposition to the action of said electromagnet, when said operating lever is in circuit-closing position.

8. The combination with a circuit interriipter, an operating mechanism therefor, and a restraining means for said mechanism, of an electromagnet having a movable core to engage said restraining means, and a stationary core upon which said movable core normally rests, and mechanical means tending to actuate said movable core to release said restraining means in opposition to the pull of said electromagnet when said circuit intei'rupter is closed, said mechanical means embodying a spring interposed between the movable core and a pivotally mounted lever which is engaged by said.Y

mechanism in its closed. position.

ln testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my naine this 23rd day of Nov. 1910.

FORD W. HARRS. 

